Everything was good. I was teaching a senior bible class every Thursday. I absolutely loved it. People in that class loved each other. It was just a great thing.

Then, 

I began to have trouble with my voice, and I began seeing a specialist at Ochsner’s in New Orleans. In late February, he said that he wanted to get a biopsy of my voice box, just to be sure. We did that around the first of March, and about this time, the Coronavirus really began to run rampant and spread everywhere, especially at Ochsner’s. The hospital didn’t get my biopsy back for about 3 weeks to a month, so of course I wasn’t thinking anything of it. The doctor called me shortly after that and related that I had cancer in my voice box.

I really can’t describe to you how I felt and how I acted when I got that news. I probably won’t even try, because actually, it would embarrass me to tell you how I acted. As I look back, my actions and my attitude were nothing like being a Christian. I acted like that in front of my grown kids, and I am ashamed of my actions. I was a Christian then — I know I was. We know when we’re Christians. I believed that Christ had died a horrible death for me so that I can live in eternal life. I repented of my sins and began to try to be more like Jesus every day. But, I had a long way to go. 



We couldn’t get into MD Anderson — my wife and kids wanted me to do that — because of COVID-19. I didn’t want to go back to Ochsner’s, because it was full of the virus. Probably over 300 employees, including doctors, had the virus, so for whatever reason, we were led to Doctor Wall in Biloxi. I didn’t know her, but one of the things I know was directed by God was leading me to her. She had a plan for my treatment, but she told us that she wanted to pray about it first. How many doctors would do that — say they wanted to pray about what they were going to do? I knew that was the right place.

I went through 36 or 37 radiation treatments, and I know a bunch of you probably have, too. I went though about 8 treatments of chemo. They made a mask-like contraption that went over my face and over my shoulders, and it held me down. And when I say it held me down, I couldn’t move anything — sometimes I couldn’t even breathe.

Here’s the deal: I’m terribly claustrophobic. I can’t even ride in an elevator without breaking out in a sweat. There was nothing in this world that could help me.

So, I began to pray. And, the prayers were different this time. You talk about earnest and humble. I just knew I needed Him really badly. So, the next day, when I went for my first treatment and they put that contraption on me, it didn’t bother me a bit!

You know, I was in a dark place — I’m not proud of it. I’m more or less ashamed of it. But while I’m in this dark place, when Jesus came, He shined his light into my darkness. He shines His light into the darkness of the world. And when I had that thing on my head, I knew God was with me.

During the coming weeks of treatment, I had problems every week. I had a rash — it looked like leprosy to me, but they called it a rash. The next week, I couldn’t eat (but I tried, because Diane wouldn’t leave me alone about it).

God handled every problem that arose. The worry was gone. I cast my worries and my anxieties on Him. I realized more than ever that He DID care for me. I prayed several times each day, but they were different prayers. God was with me every day, and He has been since that time.

I finished the treatments with a PET scan, and they found I had no more cancer. But, I began to have problems in that area. I found out the radiation had burnt up my voice box. At least 2 of my doctors felt like, either the cancer was back or there was new cancer to be found.

At that time, I was having difficulty breathing. I had an appointment with my pulmonologist on a Friday, and they said, “listen, I heard you’re having problems breathing. Come with me, I’m going to get you an appointment with a radiologist right now” even though I hadn’t made one or had any hope of getting in to see one that weekend. She told me that I needed a tracheotomy right now, and, of course I didn’t want one, but she found an OR, left patients, and put a trach in immediately. She told me, if I hadn’t done that right away, I would have died that very night because my airway was the size of a coffee straw.

In that moment, God was with me, I know he was. 

I went back to an ENT surgeon. He did another biopsy, and I actually felt like I had cancer. But, I was at peace now. I didn’t act foolish. I knew I was going to lean on God; I was going to let Jesus help me, because He cares for me. And I did that. And the biopsy came back negative — that was good. But, then I was told that I had to go back and get my entire voice back taken out, a feeding tube placed in my stomach, etc. It turned out, none of that needed to happen after all.

He was with me every time, and I can’t explain that peace. You know what the peace is that’s unexplained, that humans can’t understand? I had that peace.

God had been beside me for decades, but I didn’t really appreciate it. I didn’t really express my gratitude at all. But, you know what? In every prayer, every day, I do give him thanks for what He’s done for me and what He’s doing for me. I might not have done it in the past, but for the rest of my days, I’ll be doing it.

Now is a good time to reassess your relationship with Christ. Things can look like they’re going well, but you need to make sure you know that God is there in the good times and the bad. Immanuel, God is with you!  But you’ve got to ask Him. You’ve got to have a relationship with Him.

You know, there’s going to come a time when God decides it’s time for me to go, and when it does, I’ll be ready. But my priority now is saying every prayer in such a way that I’m in God’s will for my life.

I’m not ready to go, don’t misunderstand me, but I’ll be ready when He says so.

FB Family,

As most of you are aware, I am entering into a new season of parenting.  My daughter will begin her college career in less than two weeks, and I will be moving her out of our constant supervision and into early adulthood (a.k.a. dorm life!)  I can’t begin to explain all the simultaneous emotions I’m having (yes, including crying).  However, the one thing that matters most to me is: did I raise her to stay in the faith?

In 2017, Lifeway research showed that 70 percent of young adults will drop out of church, with only two-thirds of those returning sometime in their life.  This is not okay with me!  Have I done everything I could do as a parent to prevent my daughter from becoming part of this statistic?  This has been and will continue to be my constant prayer for both of my children: that they do not become a statistic.  

In 1 Corinthians 9:19-23, Paul writes:

Paul understood the importance and was willing to do WHATEVER it took to win the hearts of people for Christ.  Failing to do so was not an option for Paul.  With God on his side, nothing was too daunting for him. Paul was ready to face any challenge along the way.  This is the attitude we must assume as we minister to our own children and to the children that God has called us to serve.

Sometimes it is hard for me to believe that it has been over four months since we last met together as a Children’s ministry.  I miss your children!!!  As we begin to look to the future and to the day that we will be together again, I would like to ask you to be in prayer and think about Paul’s example.  Let’s continue to build a church community that is willing to go above and beyond, to do whatever it takes to win the hearts of our children for Christ.  

We have heard it said, “You only have a short time with your children, so make it count.” I will be honest, I’m not sure I took that statement seriously when mine were younger.  I was just trying to make it to the next day without losing my mind!  But here I am, with no idea how I got here and knowing that my time as an “influencer” is almost up.  I pray that the time I had to influence my children with the love and grace that only Jesus can offer them was enough to sustain them in life.  I am praying that no matter what this life throws at them, their hearts would be so full of the Holy Spirit that they will not be shaken.

As you continue to pour Christ into the lives of your own children, I am so excited to come along side you in ministry as the Preschool and Children’s Ministry Director.  I pray that you would feel like you are a partner in ministry, both with your own children and with the children and families that we are called to serve at First Baptist Gulfport. THERE IS A PLACE FOR YOU TO SERVE!!  Just give me a call or send me an e-mail!

In a culture that so often devalues children, why should we follow Jesus’ example? Simply put, Jesus got it! More is learned in our first five years than at any other period in our lives. We transform from a helpless newborn with no conception of the world to a self-sufficient kindergartener who has mastered motor skills, a language, thinking and reasoning, emotions, as well as spiritual awareness.

Back in the day, children were cared for in church so that parents could do important “adult things."  “Nursery workers”, perhaps even paid, made sure that basic needs were met and that children remained safe and happy. Fast forward to the days of early childhood education, research in brain plasticity and knowledge in the advantages of early intervention. We now understand that we can to do more than just meet basic needs. Our goal is to help mold hearts to trust God, to know Jesus, to walk in His ways, to love church.......this is of utmost importance in planting the seeds of the Gospel.

That is why we strive for excellence. That is why we train our teachers in safety, guiding children, and reaching out to families. That is why we commit to be the face of Jesus to these babies each Sunday. That is why we leave the comfortable adult world and enter the world of a child. Little ones are not the “future church"; they are the church now.

In a world that seems to be falling apart, it is vital to capitalize on the time we are given with these tiny blank slates. What a difference it made in my life back in 1985! I still remember my first visit to FB Gulfport. The baby teachers told us, “We don’t just keep babies, we put 'JESUS' in them!” Thank you, church, for putting Jesus in Drew and Preston Dabbs and for encouraging me to do the same! I’m so thankful that my boys still love their churches and serve their Savior! There’s no better investment!

That’s what we are about: reaching a generation for Christ by coming beside parents with intentionality. We fiercely protect our children to give them and their parents a sense of security. We teach in order to give a foundation for God’s precepts. We use curriculum designed with a “scope and sequence” with developmentally appropriate activities to cover all the basics of spiritual development. Our June lessons about worshiping God illustrate this.

Here were our verses and stories:

Samuel in The Tabernacle: I will teach you the way to go. Psalm 32:8
The People Sang: Come, let us worship God. Psalm 95:6
People Prayed for Peter: Pray for one another. James 5:16
The Antioch Church Helped: Help one another in love. Galatians 5:13

Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint Jesus. (Mark 16:1) These three women went to the tomb on the first day of the week (Sunday) to see Jesus and to anoint Him with spices.

When they arrived, they saw that the large stone was not covering the tomb. 4 And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back-it was very large. 5 And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed.

There are four things the angel told the women that we need to heed this Easter Sunday morning:

Do Not Fear v6 - And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed." 
The women were obviously startled when they saw the angel. The angel encouraged them not to be afraid. He was there to give them good news!

Seek Jesus v6 - You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. 
We must consistently seek Jesus keeping our eyes on Him. There is life in no one else!

He Has Risen v6 - He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him.
Jesus has risen, just as He said he would! He is not in the tomb. He is alive!

You Will See Him v7 - But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.” 

When you have faith and not fear. When you seek Jesus. When you believe that He is Risen and alive today. You Will See Him!!! No, we cannot go to Galilee and see Him in the flesh. But we will see Him - in our daily life, in heaven upon our arrival or on earth upon His return!!!

The word ‘story’ is mentioned only two times in the Old Testament:  2 Chronicles 13:22 and 24:27 (KJV). Under Hebrew, “story” means “an investigation.” This remind me of Acts 17:11 (KJV), “… they received the word with all readiness in mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” They did their investigation; they carefully examine the scriptures.  It’s amazing how many times Jesus told his disciples, “He would be killed, but on the third day he would be raised from the dead." After careful examination of the scriptures, I notice Jesus did not use the word, ‘bury or burial’ concerning himself, except in Matthew 26:12 and Mark 14:8.  When he spoke to the disciples about himself, Jesus would say, “He" or "the son of man" will be killed, or crucified, and on the third day he would be risen from the dead. He would bypass the tomb, grave, or burial. Why?

Maybe he did not want us to be stuck at the tomb, the grave or the burial ground. Those words represent the end of one life.  

Over ten years ago, one of our sisters in Christ went home to be with the Lord. Everyday her daughter would visit the gravesite, which brought on depression. One day as we were talking, she shared what she was doing and how depressed she was. We had prayer and opened our Bible to Luke 24:5-6 (KJV), “Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen: remember…” I told her if her mother could speak to her now, she would repeat similar words, “My dear daughter why are you coming here as though I am dead, I am alive, I am with Jesus!” Those words lifted the depression from her; she saw her mother alive in heaven!

I never though those same words would comfort me when our son, John, departed this world and went home to be with Jesus Christ.  

On Tuesday, March 31, I was speaking to a young woman who was a little angry with God. I let her know that I empathized with her. I told her, if anyone should be mad at God, it should be me especially after what happened to our son and other things in my life. I choose not to be mad. I say to her, “but the good news is, “We will see our son again.” She said, “I hope you will.” I responded, “Yes we will see him again.” That is a promise God gave us as believers according to the written word in 1 Corinthians 15.    

By doing this devotion, the Story is not over for our loved ones in Christ Jesus. Just like our son, on February 25, 2019 at 7:40pm John closed his eyes (his life) to this world, but at the same exact time and day (not a second later), he opened his eyes in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ.   On Saturday, April 4, I was flipping through the channel, and stop to listen to a doctor telling this young man that he had cancer, but they were glad they found it early. The young man responded, “I’m going to die.” He only heard the negative, not the positive.  

Maybe you or a loved one received a negative report from the doctor. Some words spoken over us like cancer or the fear of COVID-19 sometimes make us feel like it is a death sentence. However, the story is not over. In the video, I will share my faith and struggles after I also received a negative report from the doctor. However, my story was not over, I am here today to tell it.  The Story isn’t Over for Jesus, our loved ones and for us.

Then the men asked, “Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead!” Luke 24:5-6

The complete story of Jesus must include his brutal death.
Death isn't easy under the best circumstances.
Death becomes even more grievous when it is unexpected or unjust.

Can you imagine what Jesus' mom was feeling when she witnessed her son’s execution?
Did she think back to his arrival - that time that she “treasured up and pondered in her heart” the miracle of His birth? Did she remember escaping the murderous rampage of Herod with their safe passage to Egypt, toddler Jesus in tow? Maybe she thought about the time Jesus as a 12 year old was left behind in Jerusalem and was lost - at least by her - for three days. She was frantic! The miracles. Did she walk back through her memory of the many miracles she witnessed?

The death of someone close triggers the grief of loss and regret; forces us to reflect on the life of the one we have loved - only memories, no more memories to be made.

And, what about the hardened, Roman Centurion? Unlike Jesus’ mom, he didn’t have a close connection to Jesus. How many crucifixions had he supervised and participated in? Yet, there was something so different about the death of Jesus. The sky grew dark, the earth quaked, the veil in the temple ripped from top to bottom. We get a sense of the centurion’s response in the Gospel of Mark chapter 15 verses 37-39, where we read,
“With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last. 38 The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. 39 And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how he died, he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!”

Surely this man was the Son of God! Even though Jesus was dead, His death was different. What was different about the death of Jesus? Why does His death matter?

At His death, Jesus experienced the isolating separateness of sin, and by His death, the curtain isolating God from humanity came down. God sent his Son to suffer and to die so that through him we might draw near. Because of the cross, we can experience the FULLNESS of joy only HIS PRESENCE brings. On this solemn day remember weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning (Psalm 30:5). What looked like defeat was victory.  

Jesus was going to the garden in Gethsemane with Peter James and John. He
went by himself to pray. He didn’t fold his hands or drop to his knees. He fell to
the ground face down crying if possible Abba Father take this cup from me.
Jesus understood the pain, the curse He came for. Shame, death he cared
nothing about. He wasn’t asking for the physical pain to be spared. He willing
gave his life for our sins. He recoiled from being loaded with foreign sin so His
heavenly father’s face and favour must at least for a while be withdrawn from
Him. His soul couldn’t stand having God turn his face from him. That’s the deep
sorrow that he was feeling. After the prayer he ended yet not my will but thine.
God answered that’s not the plan. Be faithful.

It is a wonderful thing to be with Jesus on the mountain when things are glorious.
We would love to always be there. But we must also go out in the stormy sea in
the gloomy night and again meet with Him in the valley of the shadow of death.
Growing up, Pam & I always prayed to one day have Christian spouses. Thirty
Eight years ago, God answered our prayers and joined the long haired, hockey
playing Yankee who doesn’t eat grits with a beautiful firecracker of a Southern
Belle who didn’t believe in balancing her checkbook! We had a wonderful
wedding and over the years added Andrew, Alex, and Kathryn to our family. God
certainly did answer our prayers.

But then, just three years ago, Pam and I found ourselves once again, in fevered
prayer, this time asking God for healing of our precious 22 year old daughter who
had just been diagnosed with aggressive Stage 4 Spindle Cell cancer. Over the
weeks, Kathryn’s health was declining and with it came great pain and suffering.
Ultimately, Pam and I changed our prayer from the healing we naturally wanted
as parents, to “ God, Thy Will Be Done”. Within a few short days, God brought
Kathryn home where she now lives forever and with no pain or suffering. God
once again answered our prayer and reminded us … BE FAITHFUL.

We don’t know God’s plan. But be encouraged that he has each one of us in the
palm of his hand. He wants the very best for his children. We need to look to
him for guidance in all that we do. If you’re anxious, hurting, or struggling, turn it
over to God today. He’s in control. Call out to you Abba Father in prayer and be
faithful.

From our Family to yours, Happy Easter, for He Is Risen.

Once you’ve known me for a little while, you’ll probably figure out that speaking publicly is a challenge for me. Singing and reading scripture is fine because I’m just speaking someone else’s words, but I always relate the most to Moses and his insistence that maybe Aaron or some other leader could do a better job of speaking to Pharaoh than he ever could. But like Moses and like this woman in Bethany, truly encountering Jesus means that there’s no room anymore for holding back.

When this woman felt the prompting to come into the same room as the LORD and to offer him what was likely her most costly earthly possession, she didn’t just uncork it and dab a tiny bit on His head. The Scripture says that she broke her jar completely open and poured everything out before Him. Even though others in the room started to criticize her and to scold her, she had nothing to fear – because Jesus stepped in. Not only did the LORD Himself tell her mockers to leave her alone, He reassured the woman that in just doing what she could, her offering allowed for His purpose to come to pass.

Jesus knew all along that not only would the woman feel prompted to offer Him what was probably the most valuable thing that she had, but that it would be the very perfume that was used to prepare a body for burial. Her sacrifice was a vital part of preparing Christ for His death on the cross, but most importantly, his triumphant resurrection. So I take away this: It’s not about what we do or don’t do in front of other people; it’s about what we do or don’t do in front of God. If what we offer Him is all that we have, and we’re holding nothing back, we have done what we could. Our surrender means that we have allowed the Spirit to work in and through us to accomplish His will. I hope that encourages you as much as it’s encouraged me this season.

In this passage, we see Jesus being confronted by the religious leaders of that day. And, essentially, what they’re saying is: “what authority do you have to say these things, to do these things, to teach these things? Essentially, who do you think that you are?”

And Jesus replies to them, and He says, “What authority did John have to do what He did by?” But notice that He’s not trying to confront their knowledge of the situation, not trying to confront how much they know – these are the religious leaders of this day! They knew the Bible, they had the knowledge. The thing that Jesus is trying to confront them about is their belief about it. Even in their response, it shows that they are struggling to believe these things. They don’t know what they believe. They’re so worried about what other people think of them, with what Jesus is doing, that they don’t know what they actually believe.

And what this does is expose something in us, too. It’s really easy for us to have knowledge about these things, to know Scripture, to have this intellectual understanding of God, but if we don’t believe, all of that is worthless. It’s worth nothing. So, what we can see in this passage is that we need to know what we believe about Jesus. If Jesus was standing before you, and He said, “By what authority do you think I do these things,” what would your response be? What do you believe about Christ, about God? It shows us the importance of having an understanding of who He is, what He’s done, and why that is important to us.

So, I challenge you today: what do you believe about God? Why? Is it just something that you believe because of the people who are watching you, or is it something that’s real to you? Is it something that you truly believe in your heart? Think about these things. Meditate on this passage. Pray about it as we approach Easter.

Don't you think that in this passage of Scripture, Jesus was really mad? That he was really angry? More than that, he seemed to be displaying a great deal of indignation at the way that these salespeople had dishonored the very purpose of their arrival in Jerusalem. Instead of using the Temple as a place of worship, the way that God intended it to be used, they had transformed it into a den of robbers and merchandisers. Not only that, but despite it being the time of year in which Israel observed the feast of the passover in Jerusalem, they were desecrating a holy place and a holy feast with their selfish purposes.

What was so unique about this particular time of year? Once a year, the chief priest slaughtered a sacrificial lamb to atone for the sins of the people. We see, on this side of the cross, that Jesus has become our sacrificial lamb, taking our sins upon Himself. So, how should we worship today to make sure that our churches are houses of prayer and houses of worship? We sing praises to God with beautiful, holy music that stirs our hearts to tune into God. We go to our churches today to study His word, to learn His word, and to fellowship together, remembering that we should always be reverent and respectful of His house.

The LORD tells us that, on this side of the cross, we are to be SALT and LIGHT to a lost and dying world. We are to go forth and teach that salvation is for all, that Jesus did die on the cross on this particular Passover weekend, knowing full well that He would soon become the sacrificial lamb for the sins of the world.

As we begin this holy season, we remember the journey that Jesus made as he left Capernaum and Galilee, to observe the feast of the Passover knowing that He would become the sacrificial lamb for the sins of the world, bringing redemption to our very dark world. We come celebrating, because we know that the cross was not the end of His story. There was more to come -- the resurrection that would follow in 3 days. We journey, not only to the cross, but to that glorious day when He rose from the grave and continues living today. To God be the glory, forever, amen. 

Hosanna, God Save Us! The King is Arriving!

Do you remember arrivals in your life that you wouldn’t have missed? For me, it’s the birth of both of my children. It was a day that I was anticipating. It was a day that I was excited about. It was a day that I wouldn’t have missed. It was a mile-marker in my life that I will forever hold onto. Now flashback 2,000 years ago to the arrival of Jesus Christ, the One who was their Savior, and they didn’t even know it at the time. The One that was there for them, a King they wanted to shower with praises. Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.

There’s irony in this, and you’ll see this in the devotionals ahead. But now, flash forward 2,000 years from that time, and you get to hold tight to Jesus Christ. He is the author and perfecter of our faith. He is our salvation. He is the Way to get to the Father. Jesus has come for you.

In a world of uncertainty, and certainly in a season of uncertainty, our prayer for you is that you hold tightly to Jesus, proclaiming, “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”

From Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday, be encouraged as you journey with Jesus from His reception fit for a king through His trial, death, and resurrection.